PUNCH
The Lagos State Police Command has confirmed the death of a one-year-old baby during an attack at Egan Oriomi, in the Otto Awori Local Council Development Area of Ojo, Lagos State.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, told PUNCH Metro on Sunday that some residents of the community who got caught up in the attack also sustained varying degrees of injuries.
While speaking with our correspondent in an interview, Hundeyin said, “There was an attack on the community on Saturday morning. They burnthouses and there was a baby found in the burnt houses. When the police got there, they saw houses that were burnt and shops looted. Some members of the community also sustained gunshot wounds.”
It was learnt that some hoodlums invaded the community on Friday night, shooting sporadically.
A police source who was privy to the development but preferred anonymity as he was not authorised to speak on the matter told our correspondent that the sound of gunshots made residents scamper for safety.
The source said, “Some hoodlums who were bearing different kinds of weapons invaded the community on Friday night. They started shooting and breaking into people’s homes. They also started to inflict injuries on anyone they sighted. The attack went on throughout midnight and by the time they were done, about 10 people were already shot.
“The hoodlums also set some houses in the community on fire and that was what led to the burning of an infant. The mother of the baby was indoors with her two kids when they torched the house she was in. The shock made her escape with only her first child while the baby was left behind. When we arrived in the morning, we saw the remains of the baby while the father also wept bitterly while carrying it.”
The police source added that beyond setting some buildings on fire, the attackers also destroyed many properties.
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